Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with contacts

Outlook Contacts Compromised?

summerstorm — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:09:55 -0800

I've started getting emails "from" people in my contacts list. The email is from their name, but with an email address that is not theirs and is different each time. I have an address with a local internet provider, not gmail or yahoo. Do I have a virus my antivirus hasn't caught? How can I fix it?

iPhone4 + GmailContacs = Wrong Contact Photo. HALP!

Fuzzy Dog — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:33:16 -0800

I have an iPhone4, running iOS 5.1.1. From day one it has always pulled the Contacts from my gmail account via the "Exchange" option and has worked flawlessly...untill now... Now some contacts have a the contact photo of someone else and because of synching, the photos are ending up in my gmail contacts.

Long ago, before I has an iPhone, but had an iTouch, I enabled the connection for contacts to pull their photo from Facebook. But in the latest FB app there is no way to turn it off.

So how do I get the right contact to show the right photo...if not possible how do I remove all the contact photos?

Please do not suggest upgrading to iOS 6, as it is not an option.

Thanks for your help and ideas.

The optician won't give me my prescription!

pullayup — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:56:11 -0800

My ophthalmologist won't release my prescription. Is there anything I can do to force them to do so? My vision insurance covers one eye exam per year, and I went in for it around the beginning of December. I didn't have the money to pay for new lenses or contacts at the time, so I told them I'd come back to place my order when I could afford it. I went back today, and they informed me that I would need a new exam, as they won't use prescriptions older than three months. The new exam, of course, would need to be paid for out-of-pocket.

So, while the prescription is still relatively fresh, I'd like to take my business elsewhere.

The catch? They won't release my prescription. Legally, I think they have to, but the FTC stipulates that they (may) only be compelled to do so on the same day as the exam:

Sec. 456.2 Separation of examination and dispensing.

It is an unfair act or practice for an ophthalmologist or optometrist to:

(a) Fail to provide to the patient one copy of the patient's prescription immediately after the eye examination is completed.

Provided: An ophthalmologist or optometrist may refuse to give the patient a copy of the patient's prescription until the patient has paid for the eye examination, but only if that ophthalmologist or optometrist would have required immediate payment from that patient had the examination revealed that no ophthalmic goods were required;

[...]

The irony, of course, is that my current pair is now approaching its sixth or seventh birthday, the lenses are trashed, and my new prescription is considerably different in any case. I really want new glasses. This is a "normal" ophthalmology practice, not a chain/discount/free exam-type business. Am I SOL?

How can I keep track of reaching out to my contacts on a regular basis?

incandescentman — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:35:55 -0800

I want a contact management system that will remind me to: (1) follow up with new people I meet, and track when I do, and (2) reach out to those people on a regular basis (and track when I do). Please share your own app-based or text-based system for doing this! I want a contacts system that will help me:

1. Follow up with new people I meet
2. Reach out to those people on a regular basis

I met a woman who trains people on how to manage their careers, and she said the biggest secret to success besides the obvious ones (be smart and talented, work hard, do exemplary work, be nice to work with) is keeping in touch with the large number of acquaintances you make. An old idea—the so-called "strength of weak ties"—that the people most likely to help you are not those in your immediate work/social circle, but friends of friends, peripheral contacts, and people you meet randomly.

I've always felt gross about "networking" and have never done it in any form. I'd probably be much further along in my career if I did. When friends turn to me at parties and say things like, "There are lots of important editors here, you should work the room, meet as many people as you can," I want to run away and cry.

That said, I'm a friendly, social person, and as long as I'm not doing it with some ulterior career motive, I love meeting new people and talking to them. I sometimes meet awesome people I really click with, at parties or conferences or book launches or whatever, people I'd probably become friends with under other circumstances.

I lose touch with approximately 100 percent of these people. My current system is (1) exchange cards when I meet them, then (2) no step two. Sometimes I friend them on Facebook and that's about it. Many of them are people in my industry who would be good to keep in touch with for professional reasons as well.

This woman I met said it really helps to keep in touch with these "weak ties," through "infrequent but regular reaching out." In other words: (1) sending a follow-up note soon after I meet them, and (2) sending an email every few months just to stay on their radar.

As a journalist, I'd also love to do a better job of keeping track of my source list and reaching out more often, including when I spoke to each person, who I need to follow up with, and when.

Right now I use Mac Address Book + Google Contacts. Inadequate.

I'd like a system to help me manage my contacts—not their contact info, but a timeline of past contact, plus future reminders.

Is there an web app or OSX app that will:

1. Remind me to follow up with a new person I meet (and note when I do so)
2. Remind me to reach out to them at regular intervals, e.g. every 3 months or whatever (and keep track of whether and when I do so)
3. Show me a timeline of when I've emailed people, when they've responded, etc and maybe snapshots of those emails

I also welcome suggestions on how to create a system to track all this manually in a text file, if you think that's the best way to go.

Redox oops

DoubleLune — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:48:03 -0800

I accidentally rinsed my contacts with hydrogen peroxide. Can I still wear them tomorrow? When taking out my contacts, I accidentally grabbed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide instead of saline solution and covered the contacts with it. I immediately realized what I did, and took the contacts out of the liquid, rinsed the case with saline (I use a no rub multipurpose solution) and put the contacts in the saline.

Googling seems to imply that I should be okay if they're thoroughly rinsed, but I'd like to make sure. I figure overnight in saline plus a good rinse in the morning should be okay. I really don't want to toss them because I just opened a new pack, and am visiting family and don't have spares with me.

Online collaborative work space

fatfrank — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:42:16 -0800

The other members of a group activity I'm involved in are geographically spread out and we need an online space to store documents, contact details and a calender. Google groups isn't really going to cut it as there's no calender function and we're currently communicating via Facebook, which is limiting in terms of the document storage side. I could use a combination of dropbox/google calender/facebook but I'd like to keep to one single system if possible, particularly one that doesn't require people to set up additional accounts. Any recommendations?

Help me create the perfect Contacts Manager

zooropa — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:01:26 -0800

After years of being an Android user, I finally bought my first iPhone. I'm having trouble and getting thoroughly confused with merging and syncing all my contacts. Please help me start over and create the Ultimate Contacts Manager solution that doesn't require me to become a sync wizard. Here are the details:

I use Gmail for personal mail and Google Contacts for personal contacts.

I use Exchange at work for email and the global address book for contacts.

I am a social media manager for a living, so as you'd imagine, I have a plethora of contacts in LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

In the Settings screen, I've added all my various contacts in the Mail, Contacts, and Calendar section. But I'm getting thoroughly confused trying to remember which is sync'd with which, so if I make a change in Google Contacts, I don't remember if it will also be changed in the Exchange/work address book. And with all the different info coming in from LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, I'm getting multiple versions of names or four home addresses for the same person.

Please help me start over and create the Ultimate Contacts Manager solution that doesn't require me to become a sync wizard. I'm willing to pay for an online software solution if it's $5-10/month.

What are the most comfortable contact lenses in the world?

snoogles — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:49:20 -0800

Save me from my glasses! I'd like to find the perfect contacts. I used to wear the Day and Night contact lenses. I could wear them for an entire week without taking them out (ophthalmologist-approved) and only needed to put in a bit of solution in the morning to be perfectly comfortable. For some reason, the company changed the formulation to make them more comfortable, and I can no longer tolerate them.

I've tried a few brands since then (including Specsavers own brand and a few others I can't remember) but I haven't found any that I can tolerate for more than 8 hours a time, or for more than a few days in a row. I'm getting tired of always wearing my glasses, so my New Year's resolution is to find my new perfect contacts!

Could you suggest a few brands that you've found particularly comfortable? Or eyedrops that have worked magic?

PS: I will definitely get LASIK as soon as possible, but my eyes haven't stabilized yet.

Best way to keep a log about a person?

JoannaC — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:02:32 -0800

We have a person we have to deal with on an ongoing basis for a legal issue who is a bit of a PITA and we have been asked to start documenting our contact with her. How? What I am struggling with is how to keep everything organized together: emails, phone calls, dates and times of things, receipts, and so on in a way that we can synthesize it in response to queries. So if the lawyer calls us (as he did today) and says 'give me the dates of the last three times you went to city X, what time she got there for the meetings you scheduled, what you talked about at the meetings,plus receipts for the hotel during that visit' we can pull it up in a minute. Also, if something has a document (or more than one document) that goes with it (e.g. there was a phone call, then an email, which resulted in a document plus a receipt plus a reference to a past document) how we can somehow keep everything organized together so they cross-reference each other.

So...print everything? Scan receipts and write up meetings and then forward to gmail and tag? Some iPad app I haven't thought of yet? I can't quite get my head around the easiest way to manage all those bits of info (emails, phone calls, personal contacts, notes, receipts etc.) so that we can easily pull it together to answer a query like the one above.

On the prowl for the best "long-wear, comfortable" COLORED contact lense brand. Any recommendations?

audio — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 08:19:36 -0800

On the prowl for the best "long-wear, comfortable" COLORED contact lense brand. Any recommendations? I currently wear colored contacts that tint the outer portion of my eye green. I often get compliments on this, however I often don't wear them simply because 1. after an hour they just feel so dam uncomfortable 2. it feels like there is always a film over my eyes. The ones I currently wear where prescribed to me for the correct curve and so forth.

My research seems to indicate the best brand is acuvue opaques because the DK (oxygen permeability) level is 33 (the highest I've seen from my research).

33 is really low in comparison to most of the "normal" contact lenses out there.

Does anyone know of any other brands I should look into?

Help! Facebook integration messed up my iPhone's contacts!

snickerdoodle — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:01:34 -0800

Help! Facebook integration messed up my iPhone's contacts! I stupidly let Facebook integrate itself into my iPhone, and now all my contacts are screwy. Basically, it seems to have used a first name & last name match to add info from Facebook to my contacts. Unfortunately, we don't have so many names in my culture, so now a bunch of people have had the wrong photos, email addresses, middle names, etc. added to their contacts on my phone. Worst of all, I can't seem to edit the wrong data. Whereas before I had:

John Smith
John Smith's info

I now have:
John A. Smith
John Smith's info
John A. Smith's info

And none of John A Smith's data can be removed.

Anyone know how to fix this? Or reverse it?

Repeating "No" Nicely

Urban Winter — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:38:13 -0800

How to say no over and over again? I work part time in a secretarial position, and everyone else on staff is full-time. I am regularly invited out for lunches (a "lunch with the girls" event). I get invitations to these lunches every few weeks, but am not interested in attending any of these events. I don't have any interest in getting to know any of them outside of work, and won't need to for the purpose of references after I leave either. I'm not there long enough to have a lunch break in the first place, in fact, never mind an hour-long one. One of the people who attends these meetings is someone who has regularly taken some things I do and emails I send out of context, and assumed that I have been doing/saying things specifically to offend or push work onto them. I have at this point given up on altering this impression, and we mutually avoid each other now. It is a small enough group that this avoidance would be impossible here.

The first time I received an invitation, I made up an excuse. After I realized that it was going to be a routine thing I said that I don't feel comfortable taking so much time (an hour) for lunch when I am only here part time to begin with. The response was that I can always work extra time to avoid having to take time off just for lunch, and that I should come out and be social. My last response was more or less "Eh, maybe next time."

Is there something I can say that will be easily re-usable each time I get another invitation, without feeling like I'm just blowing them off? I've received one today and have been putting off answering it. Can I just say, over and over again, that I don't feel comfortable taking an hour lunch? Is school a good excuse (I'm a double-majoring undergrad), and if so, how could that excuse carry through the holidays or the summer? I don't want to be so harsh about it that they don't invite me at all, not because I want to go in the future but because not receiving an invite would be an ejection from the little "group," and I do want to remain friendly with them... Just at work only.

How do I install the "Contacts" app on an Android tablet that did not include it?

Brooklyn_Jake — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:36:13 -0800

Is there a way to add the "standard" contacts app to an Android tablet that did not come with it installed? My daughter has a new Android tablet that only has WiFi. It does not have some of the standard apps that my Android phone has installed, some of which I understand, for instance without a phone what use is a dialer? BUT. There is no Contacts app installed.

Gmail is installed, but there does not seem to be a way to enter a new contact or to edit the details of an existing contact. The tablet was bought so that she could email from it.

I know there are third party apps out there, but I'd really like to just install the stock Contacts app. I don't see it in the market though. We're working around it by opening her Gmail contacts on a desktop PC browser.

The "About Tablet" tab yields this info: Model Number T711, Android Version 4.0.3, and it apparently is an Rk29SDK whn it comes to system updates.

So, how does one install parts of the "standard" Android app suite?

Sharing OUTSIDE contacts nightmare!

Guyatoffice — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:18:54 -0800

How can my small company share OUTSIDE contacts across our organization and have access to them on our phones? My company is small (5) employees, but we have hundreds of clients and about 30 suppliers. We need those contacts accessible on all our smart phone and our computers. How can this be done? Can it be done so that they are accessible through apples address book? On Android? Has any one tackled this?

Please help me get my data back!

ichbinsocki — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:54:18 -0800

Have you successfully retrieved your contact data from an older CRM? I have been using TeamscopeCRM to manage my contacts in Outlook. I have several custom fields. I would like to export the contacts to an excel or CSV file that includes the custom field data. So far I've only been able to export the standard outlook fields.

Please tell me, oh hivemind, how to export all of the information? I'm obviously exporting it because I want to move away from that CRM, AND the company itself is extremely hard to reach directly, so going back to Teamscope is an absolute last resort. "Export contacts from Teamscope CRM" google-fu has failed utterly.

Thanks!

To rub or not to rub?

domnit — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:15:41 -0800

What makes contact solution "no rub"? I have 2 bottles of "multi-purpose solution" for contact lenses. The Equate (Walmart brand) solution instructs you to rub the lenses. The Up & Up (Target brand) solution is marked as "no rub". These seem to be identical products from the same manufacturer - same bottle, same content listing, same US patent number, similar-looking lot number. What gives? Does "no rub" mean anything? Can I always skip rubbing with any multi-purpose solution / is it better to rub even if it says "no rub"?

Online contact management panacea, where are you?

cmm — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:20:36 -0800

Where should I be managing my online contacts so that I can use them on my phone easily and how can I get there from the mess I have right now? Why is managing contacts such a mess?

My personal phone is polluted with garbage put there by Facebook integration plus Gmail sync plus my work blackberry syncing to Gmail contacts plus stuff I put into the phone on my own. I am getting a new phone and want to move what I have off my old phone (ancient Palm Pixi) to a new phone (iPhone 4). Yes, I'm a trend setter.

I can get contacts off the Pixi, but on the iPhone when I hook up gmail sync, if I turn on contacts sync, that gets me all my gmail contacts. Then if I import the Pixi contacts, I have dupes.

Plus none of that has addresses which I only have in Windows Addressbook of all places because that's where we put them when we did wedding invitations.

Where is the right place to store contacts so that I can:
1) Have a web-accessible online rolodex so I can look things up easily
2) Modify or add contacts on my phone and the world stays in sync
3) Easily merge in all the data sources I have and clean them up

Bonus points if I can:
1) Have Facebook profile pictures on my phone for contacts that have Facebook
2) Share effortlessly with my wife so that our rolodex is shared and goes to each of our phones

I'm fine paying for things. I feel dumb for not knowing the answer.

Prescription contact lenses, online, without an optometrist's OK. Possible?

Scientist — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:53:22 -0800

Is there somewhere online that I can order prescription contact lenses from without a optometrist's confirmation? I would like to order a pair of prescription contacts for Halloween (so that I don't have to wear glasses with my costume) but my prescription is a couple of years old and the last time that I tried, I couldn't get them sent because the optometrist who made out my prescription wouldn't sign off on it. I know my prescription is stable (it has been for the last 20 years, anyway) and in any case I don't care if it's perfect because I just want them for the one night.

I have worn contacts before. I don't normally wear them because I find them a bit uncomfortable, but I'd like to have a pair for Halloween. Bonus if I can get colored/patterned ones should I desire to go that route, but really I just want them so that I can see properly without having my costume ruined by my glasses. (Yes, I am aware of the option of choosing a costume that works with glasses.)

So anyway I have a copy of my prescription and I want to go to a website where I can just plug in the numbers and they'll send me my lenses, no questions asked. Is there anywhere that does this? Help me out. I don't have another $300 to spend on an optometrist's appointment just so that I can be told that my eyes are the same as they were two years ago.

When the Big One Hits

Lettuce_Leaves — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:24:22 -0800

Best way to store contacts online for a headcount during a natural disaster? So I recently moved to a friendly neighborhood where folks are keen on earthquake preparedness. We had our first meeting, during which we got to know each other (about 15 households), spoke about what we'd done to fortify our houses, what kinds of emergency supplies we had, and what we should be prepared to do if/when The Big One hits. Someone suggested sharing contact info so that we'd know who to look for during a headcount. I suggested that we put this info online as well as in hard copy--perhaps a semi-private neighborhood Flickr page where we'd put a pic of everyone in the household, their address, phone #, and at least one out-of-state friend to contact in case of emergency. But I'm wondering whether there's a better way to do this. Obviously it needs to be easily accessible (and modifiable) by about 20 of us (some of whom are not particularly computer-savvy) and a few trusted friends in other states, but not so public that any old Joe Schmoe could log on and randomly find us. And it should be free. I see that Google has a neighborhood web site option, but that's way more than what we need. Does anyone have suggestions about logistics?

How did you notify your contacts of your new mobile phone number?

fake — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:17:37 -0800

I have a new mobile phone number, replacing the one I've had for years. I want to notify my (many hundreds) of contacts of this new number. What is the right way to do this? How did you handle this situation? It's an Android phone, if that helps. My number can't be ported, unfortunately.

Nicknames on my Android

tavegyl — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 05:24:55 -0800

My phone is driving me nuts filter: How can I search by nickname on my HTC One S Android phone? I love my new HTC One S, except for its volume button which is positioned so it gets accidentally pressed all the bloody time and also turns the phone off silent, which is awkward in meetings. But that's not what I'm asking about.

In the HTC contacts list you can enter a name and you can enter a nickname. So I laboriously entered all my phone numbers from a wide range of electronic and paper sources, as well as the nicknames I actually know people by. But it looks like you can't search by nickname at all, meaning Aunty Popo won't get her Eid phone call this year unless I magically remember her actual name which isn't Aunty or Popo.

Are there any workarounds? Apps I can install? A better contact sorting app to replace this one? Or must I simply suck it up as the rest of the internet seems to suggest?

How to organize contacts systematically?

michaeldunaway — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:11:11 -0800

What is the best way of organizing and managing my thousands of contacts - software, best practices, general ways of thinking about the issue? I'm a filmmaker and the film editor for a major entertainment magazine. I am the type of person who makes friends easily and makes strong connections with lots and lots of people (I have over 2000 FB friends, and a good 85% of them are people I've had meaningful and memorable RW interaction with). It's becoming really really important that I make a systematic inventory of who I know, how I know them, who they work for, where they live, and what they do. Fortunately, I've got some labor this summer that can help me out with this.

I use lots of Google services (I have a Motodroid and use Gmail, Gcal, Gcontacts, others), so I suspect using labels in Google Contacts is going to be optimum, but if there's something better out there, I want to explore it. And even if not, I need to figure out how best to organize within Google Contacts.

Thoughts?

I can see clearly now, the pain is gone...

blurker — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:31:23 -0800

I am considering changing from contact lenses that last one month to daily disposable lenses. Is there anything that I should know? Looking for pros and cons, particularly from anyone who has made this switch. I've been wearing contact lenses for about 30 years now. I have, in the past, gone from yearly wear lenses (both gas permeable and soft), to biweekly, to weekly, and now I am in monthly soft lenses. I like them fine, but by the third week my eyes are pretty scratchy and sensitive. This weekend my opthamologist suggested I try daily disposables. She gave me a couple of pair that I wore over the weekend, and I loved them. I'll be getting a couple of weeks worth as a "test run," but I'm wondering if anyone else has made this jump and has any words of wisdom from their experience. Thanks!

Next time, solicit advice before making major purchase...

Kronur — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:59:31 -0800

I decided to try gas permeable contacts today, but now I've read previous questions on mefi, I am having serious concerns over my choice. Does anyone like their RGP contacts, especially after years of soft contact lens wear? I've worn soft contacts since I was 12 (almost 34 now), and disposables as long as they've been around (probably 20 years or so). About a year ago, I started having increasing dry eyes at the computer. Wearing contacts on a Monday after being away from the computer all weekend was hellish. Turns out I've developed the slightest astigmatism in my right eye. (no idea why, no injury or disease)

The doctor changed me to Biofinity disposables 6 months ago. (I was wearing Acuvue Oasys when the problems started and tried Air Optix for two weeks which created an even worse hell over the Acuvues). At first the Biofinity's weren't that awesome, but over the past 6 months, I've learned to like them. But now I have much clearer vision with my glasses, and it sort of drives me crazy -the slight unfocus with my right eye.

Today the doctor gave me the option of switching to a toric disposable for my right eye, or giving RGP's a try. He explained the breaking in time, but said my vision would be awesome. I would have less eye strain, my eyes would get more oxygen, etc. (BTW, my eyes have slowly gotten better over the years. 6 years ago both eyes were -5.5, now I'm L-4.25, R-3.75.)

I ordered some RGP's, but then I searched on mefi, and everyone is saying that they suck. One person posted that their optometrist wouldn't even prescribe RGP's! I feel like I might have made a mistake here... The money isn't really much of an issue to me, I just want the best for my eyes. Does anyone like RGP's? Did anyone transition easily?

Change one thing about me

nickhb — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:27:53 -0800

Help me change one thing about my appearance I'm going to a theme party, and the theme is "Change one thing". People are dyeing or changing their hair, wearing uncharacteristic clothes, etc. I wanted to do hair or tinted contacts, but my problem is I have darker coloring (brown hair, dark brown eyes, dark but not black skin), so big appearance changes are harder. Does anyone have experience with temporary hair dyes or high quality tinted contacts? Any other ideas would be appreciated as well.